


a paradox

by tmrminewt (commodorenewt)



Category: Joker Game (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Inception Fusion, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-02
Updated: 2016-07-12
Packaged: 2018-07-19 10:26:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7357555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/commodorenewt/pseuds/tmrminewt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <span class="small">It was an easy job… or it was <i>supposed</i> to be an easy job but it seemed it had been able to put the best of them out of commission.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>  <span class="small">The Members of the D-Agency were known to be among the best dreamers in the Industry. They can easily extract from anyone but what happens when one of their jobs goes awry?</span></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> a self-indulgent inception au fic. Haha!

> **Paradox** : par·a·dox /ˈperəˌdäks/
> 
>   1. _a situation, person, or thing that combines contradictory features or qualities._
>   2. a statement or proposition that, despite sound(or apparently sound) reasoning from acceptable premises, leads to a conclusion that seems senseless, logically unacceptable, or self-contradictory.
>   3. _a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true._
> 


* * *

Sakuma stood outside the D-Agency Headquarters, his hand poised to open the door but he can’t bring himself to actually do it. His body refused to move. Why was he here?

When he left to serve in the Japan Self-Defense Forces, D-Agency and Lt. Col. Yuuki were kind enough to extend an open invitation for him to come back, but he was also given an option to leave. Nothing compelled him to come back, hell, even they might not even expect him to come back, but why did it feel like he was walking away?

He always liked to believe that he wasn’t a man who walks away from anything but after years in combat, was he ready to once again dive in a world that has proven time and time again that it was more vile and more violent than any warfare was?

But it wasn’t all bad was it? Sakuma knew that dream sharing wasn’t all bad, it does some good, D-Agency does some good but Sakuma was tired of fighting. He was tired of watching his friends die, he’d been to far too many funerals for a man as young as he was. And as smart as the members of the D-Agency was, they weren’t invincible. But walking away wouldn’t rectify that statement, now will it? They would still be vulnerable even if he decided to walk away; they would still be human, their lives easily taken, such is a reality of human fragility.

Why was he here? Why did he even tell the taxi to drop him off here? Well, when he landed, he thought being there would give him an answer but it proved to be useless and only served to confuse him more. Reality or Dream? Dream or Reality? What was the difference? He had lived in the real world for 3 years. There were times he missed dreaming, yes, but there had been enough thrill, fear and damage in reality to take his mind off it and D-Agency. He managed to survive and he figured he’ll be able to continue surviving if need be.

What can dreams offer now? What it always did, the endless possibilities, a life outside what is confined within the societal norms, a chance to create, and… being with amazing, brilliant people who challenge him for better or for worse. There were times they were cruel, there were times they’ve been overbearing… but after a couple of years with them, he’d grown to care for each of them deeply, one deeper than most. Can he walk away from them?

But would these people accept him with his half-heartedness? Miyoshi wouldn’t, the same goes with Hatano, Kaminaga, Tazaki, Jitsui, Fukumoto, Amari… they came into this wholeheartedly. They left their normal lives behind to live this kind of life. While he didn’t have to choose between his normal life and dreaming.

He wasn’t sure how they took his decision to leave for Iraq, not really. Some of them showed their concern (Amari, Fukumoto), curiosity (Tazaki, Jitsui), amusement (Hatano, Kaminaga), and what stung probably the most was indifference (Miyoshi). They didn’t share their thoughts with him but they did join him on his last day and woke up earlier than usual to watch Sakuma walk out the door.

He took a step back and another and another, until he was in the open street. He hiked his bag up his shoulder, telling himself that he’d come back tomorrow with a decision. He was sure of it. He won’t let himself dilly dally any longer. He will stay or he will go. He will have a decision tomorrow.

A man then walked past him, it was a sight he was strangely familiar with. It was like the day he was recruited to the D-Agency. But he wasn’t coming from the Police Station he used to be training at, He was coming from the D-Agency Headquarters He paused for a moment, watching the man before continuing to walk. “It’s been a while, Lieutenant… or is it Captain now?” The man didn’t stop to talk to him properly, Sakuma followed a few steps behind, like he did that time.

“You knew I was coming back today.” It wasn’t a question. _Did the others know as well?_

“We’re in a middle of a job at the moment.” Lt. Col. Yuuki informed him. “I sent Miyoshi, Kaminaga and Hatano to perform a reconnaissance mission on the subject yesterday, they should be back tomorrow.” Sakuma’s eyebrow quirked up at that. Those three were out. But what about the others? Why would Yuuki need to send 3 agents to do a reconnaissance mission? Was it dangerous? Does the job have multiple subjects? He wanted to ask but he didn’t know if he should or could ask it. “As for the others, they are elsewhere, performing their own tasks before the mission, they’ll be returning later today if not tonight.”

So… it wasn’t really the job that had everyone out the headquarters today… it was because of him. “You predicted my hesitation.” Sakuma said, his eyes darting to the ground. He doesn’t have to ask how, Yuuki always knew what was going through their heads anyway. It didn’t matter how long he was gone.

“You always had a soft heart, Captain.” Yuuki said, Sakuma could almost hear the smirk forming on his face. _You weren’t always cut out for this_. Sakuma wouldn’t be surprised to hear this from the man but it didn’t come. At the back of his mind, although he might not be as qualified as the others, he knew he had something to offer, he knew Yuuki wouldn’t have recruited him if he thought of him as incapable. “You valued human life too greatly and yet still value yours so little.”

“I am a soldier,” Sakuma had no qualms sacrificing his life for the greater good but… he had no intention of dying as a pawn of men who throw human lives away as if it were expendable and worthless to begin with to achieve whatever their personal goals were.

“You are a valuable member of this Agency.” Yuuki told him. “But you are not worth the lives of your comrades nor are they worth yours.” _My hesitation will be the death of them, is that what he’s trying to tell me?_ “If you decide to join us once again, our door is be open.”

“And if I decide otherwise?” Sakuma couldn’t help but ask.

Yuuki wasn’t surprised at the question or if he was, Sakuma wouldn’t really know. “For us dreamers, reality will never be enough.” Sakuma wanted to argue otherwise but he knew that to be true. It wasn’t an addiction but rather a curiosity that needed to be quenched, a curiosity on how far they can push the limits of creation. He wondered how far Miyoshi and the others had pushed already. “Odagiri, is in Hokkaido.” Sakuma’s eyebrows furrowed. 

Why was Yuuki telling him this?

Before he left, they, he, had no news of the former agent. The other agents went on as if Odagiri never joined, never had been part of it, but there were moments in the beginning when it was obvious that they were still coping with the loss like Sakuma was. Sakuma liked to consider that he and Odagiri developed a friendship before he left. “He needs a helping hand in establishing a clinic that he believes will help veterans cope with everyday life.

“He’s expecting you the day after tomorrow.” An envelope slipped down to the ground, Sakuma stopped, and stared at the envelope. Yuuki didn’t stop, leaving him to make his own decision in the slowly crowding streets of Tokyo. Sakuma bent down and picked it up.

* * *

_“Today’s lesson isn’t that complicated.” Odagiri grabbed his arm and pulled him up from the floor. He let go and walked over to the table. “Are we awake or are we dreaming?” Odagiri asked. He sat down and looked at Sakuma, waiting for his answer._

_Sakuma wasn’t sure. There was a PASIV on the table, ready to be used. The room was tidy and… how the hell was he supposed to know? He looked at the clock on the wall, the second hand of the clock was too slow, it barely moved. He looked at Odagiri and saw him looking at the clock as well. He turned towards Sakuma, a small smile on his face. “We’re dreaming?”_

_“Are you sure?” Odagiri asked. Sakuma looked at him, there was a possibility that they rigged the clock to slow down but… he glanced at his own watch. It wasn’t there. Did they swipe it earlier and he hadn’t noticed? Or did Odagiri swipe it when he pulled Sakuma up? Sakuma had no idea how to tell if he was dreaming or not. “Well, Lieutenant?”_

_He woke up on his back. Why was he on his back? He tried to think back but his memory was fuzzy. “We’re in a dream.” Sakuma told him. Odagiri’s eyebrow quirked up, silently compelling him to explain how he came to that conclusion. “Well, I don’t know how we ended up here.”_

_“You were looking at the clock first, why?”_

_“Miyoshi said that time functioned slower in a dream.” Sakuma answered, “Was I right?”_

_“Yes, we are in a dream.” Odagiri told him. “But you can’t always use that technique to tell you if you’re in a dream or not. You might have been knocked out or drugged, in that situation, it may be near impossible to know how you ended up where you are.” Odagiri permitted him to sit opposite him. “One thing we never leave without is our Totem.” Odagiri produced a pair of dice. Sakuma reached out to touch it but Odagiri kept it out of Sakuma’s reach, shaking his head. “A totem is a safeguard, something that will allow you to check whether you are in a dream or in reality._

_“I can’t let you hold my totem nor can I hold yours.” Odagiri glanced at his watch, Sakuma was sure they still had time, well, enough time for Odagiri to finish his explanation that is._

* * *

_Hours later, when they both woke up, Odagiri told him to choose and make his totem with the remaining time. He was putting the finishing touches on his totem when Miyoshi entered the classroom, “You two aren’t done yet?” Miyoshi asked._

_“Just finishing up.” Odagiri quietly answered. “The Lieutenant is just about done in making his totem.”_

_“Ahh, good.” Miyoshi said, looking at the models scattered on the table. “Lt. Col. Yuuki is asking for you.”_

_Sakuma looked up but Miyoshi wasn’t talking to him. Odagiri looked at his watch. “Do you mind finishing this up?” Odagiri asked._

_“You owe me.” Miyoshi said as Odagiri walked out. He turned towards Sakuma and his work area. “You do know that you’ll need to clean this up, yes?”_

_Sakuma followed his line of sight and nodded. “Yes.” Sakuma said, going back to his task._

_Miyoshi walked over to him. “What’s your totem?” He looked over his shoulder and found a gold chess pawn in the machine. “A pawn?”_

_“I considered making a rook but it didn’t seem to fit.” Sakuma told him. He took it out, polished it with his hand. Miyoshi took a seat next to him and held out his hand. Sakuma instinctively thought of handing it over but he shook his head before it touched Miyoshi’s hand. “Sorry.”_

_“You’re learning.” Miyoshi smirked, “Good.”_

_“Do you have a totem?” Sakuma asked._

_“Do you think Lt. Col. Yuuki would have let me out on jobs if I didn’t?” Miyoshi asked. Sakuma rolled his eyes and shrugged. Miyoshi reached into his pocket and placed a gold bishop near Sakuma’s pawn. “Overconfidence will get you killed.” Miyoshi told him seriously. “You can touch it if you like,”_

_“Odagiri said I shouldn’t.” Sakuma frowned. “It’ll compromise the integrity of your totem.”_

_“Well, I don’t have to worry abou that, do I? Are you planning on getting me inside a dream without my knowledge, Lieutenant?” Miyoshi asked, tilting his head to the side. “I doubt if you could and even if you could, I don’t think you would.” Miyoshi did have a point but still. “And my totem doesn’t necessarily involve the weight like most of the others do.”_

_Sakuma was putting the finishing touches to his totem, he could feel Miyoshi’s eyes one him. “What?”_

_“I can tell that the left side is slightly heavier than the right one.” Miyoshi commented as he dusted off the invisible dirt on his pants._

_Sakuma opened his mouth to tell him that it wasn’t it but closed it again because he knows that it was stupid to deny it. Sakuma had half a mind to change his totem. Maybe he doesn’t have to change it. “If not the weight, how does your totem work?”_

_Miyoshi gave him a small smile. “A totem can also be a puzzle that only the owner knows the answer to.” Miyoshi told him._

_“A puzzle?” Sakuma asked._

_“Yes.” Miyoshi told him. “I’ll give you an example, a deck of cards, can you use this as a totem?”_

_“Yes?” He said, a little unsure of his answer._

_“Are you asking or are you telling me?” Miyoshi asked, his eyebrow quirking up. Sakuma shot him a look. “Alright, explain to me why.”_

_"You said a totem can be used as a puzzle.” Miyoshi nodded. “Like if I have a deck of cards… I can take out any card but in a dream it will always be complete?”_

_“And why is that?”_

_“Because the totem is an indication of whether you’re in a dream or reality?” Sakuma asked. Miyoshi’s eyebrow quirked up. Sakuma sighed and thought about it. “Because no one knows what your totem is or their purpose. The dreamer’s subconscious would correct these supposed mistakes or assume what’s the correct use of it is. Odagiri says that totems don’t work if you’re the one dreaming.”_

_“In a deck of cards, the possibilities are far too many, you only indicated one, another would be having only the king and aces in a deck.” Miyoshi pointed out. “So, will you make a new totem or are you going to modify what you have?”_

_“If I tell you, you’d be able to figure it out.” Sakuma grumbled._

_Miyoshi smirked. “You think so highly of me,” Miyoshi took his totem and slipped it back in his pocket. “I’ll leave you to it then.” He patted Sakuma’s shoulder before turning to leave._

_“Miyoshi.” Sakuma called, Miyoshi turned to look at him. “Thank you.”_

_Miyoshi’s expression was undecipherable for a moment before his lips curled into another smirk. “I’m waiting to be impressed again, Lieutenant.”_

* * *

Sakuma was jostled out of his slumber by the people walking, shifting, and talking around him. He should know better than to doze off in a public area but it felt like he’s been travelling for the past week... and technically he had been. He rubbed the sleepiness away from his eyes. The man on the speaker announced that they were arriving at Kushiro in a few minutes. How long did he sleep?

He slipped his hand in his pocket and touched his totem. He knew he was awake but checking it became a habit, even while he was deployed where he knew the influence of dream-sharing didn’t reach. No one knew he was coming back, or he assumed that no one knew. No one was at the D-Agency the other day except for Lt. Col. Yuuki. Maybe he’d just tell the others that he was back.

Or maybe they already found out through their connections in the Military. They weren’t short of that.

Odagiri was waiting for him outside the station. It was strange seeing him in anything outside a suit, Sakuma had to look twice to make sure he was really Odagiri and not just someone Sakuma mistook as him. He made his way over to him, “It’s strange seeing you in civilian clothes.” Sakuma said in lieu of a greeting. “Nice to see you again, Odagiri.”

“The same goes with you, Lieutenant.” Odagiri extends his hand, “Tobisaki Hiroyuki.”

“Pardon?”

“My name, Sakuma-san, is Tobisaki Hiroyuki.”

He had momentarily forgotten that at the agency Yuuki had them refer to each other with fake names. He didn’t because he came to them as Sakuma and had always been to referred to as such or Lieutenant, he blamed Mutou for that. “Tobisaki-san.” Sakuma took his hand and shook it firmly. “That will take some time to get used to.” He said honestly.

“It did take some time to get used to after I left the agency,” Odagiri, no, Tobisaki told him. “Do you know why you’re here, Sakuma-san?”

“Lt. Col. Yuuki said that you needed assistance in establishing a clinic for war veterans?” Sakuma answered. _Odagiri, Tobisaki, Tobisaki, Tobisaki,_ Sakuma said over and over again in his mind.

Tobisaki smiled. He led Sakuma to the parking lot. “Well, I suppose we can call it a clinic, I want to make a recreational center for PTSD patients not just for war veterans.” Tobisaki told him. “Let’s continue this discussion later at the house.”

Sakuma nodded, following him to his car. It was only when he was in the car that he realised that the former agent was waiting for him. How did Odagiri, _**Tobisaki**_ know that he’ll be arriving? The envelope Lt. Col. Yuuki gave him had an address of a hospital there. Sakuma figured he’d just go there and wait for Odagiri to show up there, or try to find him from there which would have been pointless since he wasn’t using the name ‘Odagiri’. “Were you going to wait all day at the train station?”

Tobisaki shook his head. “I figured if you didn’t come at the first train, you decided to stay at D-Agency.” Tobisaki spared him a glance. This was sometimes unnerving, they can always predict what he was gonna do, even before he can think about it sometimes.

It was a quiet journey to Tobisaki’s house. Sakuma didn’t even notice that he fell asleep until Tobisaki shook his shoulder to wake him and inform him that they’ve arrived. “Sorry, I fell asleep.” He sat up, and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to will himself to be more awake. He looked out the window and stared at the Traditional Japanese Home. “This is your home?”

* * *

Once Tobisaki showed him his room and he put his belongings down, they headed to the sitting room. He told Sakuma to sit and make himself comfortable while he prepared refreshments for them. He came back a few minutes later. “When I left the D-Agency, Lt. Col. Yuuki gave me the address of the nearby hospital. At first, I wasn’t sure what he wanted me to do.

“Then after I’ve arrived and started volunteering there, I noticed that most of the patients they treat there were veterans.” He placed a cup in front of Sakuma and sat down. “I remember one of the reasons that made dream sharing possible was the use of it in helping soldiers, specifically veterans overcome the effects of the situations they encounter during battle.”

“I remember reading that.” Sakuma told him. “But the Military saw the potential of it in gathering information from allies and enemies. They explored the more beneficial route.”

“But the research wasn’t completely abandoned.” Tobisaki slid a folder to Sakuma who caught it. “That folder contains some of the rare cases where the Military had to get rid of the trauma of their captives before they could extract the information they needed.”

“That seems rather… barbaric.” Sakuma frowned. Curing them only to extract information from them and then, what?

Tobisaki nodded. “Yes,” Sakuma looked at him. There was a flash of anger in Tobisaki’s eyes for a moment. “There are some extractors more cruel than others who would leave them worse than how they found them.” Tobisaki said, disgust lacing his tone.

“So this clinic will be using dream sharing as a tool to help them.” Sakuma said, reading through the folder. “But dream sharing is not strictly legal.” Sakuma frowned. “if the Military finds out…”

“They’ll have the heads of the owners if they find out, that’s why it needs to be kept discreet.”

Sakuma looked at the files. “So our front can’t be too inconspicuous.”

“You’re in?” Tobisaki asked. He wasn’t exactly surprised but it was surprising how easy it was to convince him. “Are you sure, Sakuma-san?”

“This is a good cause.” Sakuma told him. “We’ll be able to help a lot of people if we succeed.”

* * *

“An onsen.” Sakuma told Tobisaki one day. They were coming home from the hospital. It was nearing dinner time, and it was Sakuma’s turn to cook dinner. Sakuma often volunteered to cook, urging Tobisaki to clear the table instead after eating. Tobisaki pretended not to notice, but Sakuma knew he knew already but kept up the charade. It was his polite way of saying that Tobisaki can’t be trusted with their food. Sakuma’s cooking was far from Fukumoto’s, but at least it was decent.

They had a routine they followed, and Sakuma had adapted quickly to his new environment. Old people seemed to love the Lieutenant, Tobisaki soon learned, and that it was still strange for two men to live together in the middle of nowhere in the current age.

Some of the hospital staff had been curious about their living arrangements and there was one time where one of the old ladies told Tobisaki to ‘hold onto Sakuma’ because she heard the nurses talking about the old Lieutenant. It made Tobisaki realise how they came to that conclusion. A Japanese Self Defence Force Soldier arrives in their little town after being deployed for 2 years in Iraq. He came to live with a man who has been there for a little over 2 years whom they knew was single and wasn’t interested in dating. They were two fairly attractive men who had no interest in accepting engagements or dates from elderly women who was setting their granddaughters up or young women who were bold enough to offer themselves. They were always together… and maybe their actions did warrant the conclusion.

As attractive Sakuma was, Tobisaki wasn’t interested at all. And even if he were, Tobisaki would never act on it. Tobisaki preferred being able to breathe without any assistance, thank you very much. Tobisaki only smiled in response to the old lady.

“An onsen what?” Tobisaki asked.

“Our storefront.” Sakuma continued. “Our storefront can be an onsen.”

Tobisaki paused for a moment and thought about it. It was a good idea but… “Won’t that take a long time to build though?” _Not to mention the resources we need to find to set it up_.

Sakuma shook his head. “Himuro-san.” Sakuma told him. “Himuro-san is looking for caretakers of his onsen located in the Mountains. His current caretaker just got married and they wanted to move to the City and start their family there.” Himuro-san was a bitter old man that slightly reminded them both of their former handler. He was also ex-Military that served during the WWII as one of the Infantry soldiers who fought in the Philippines. Tobisaki and Sakuma helped Himuro during Sakuma’s first week. “It’s near the hospital, it won’t be too strange to have people coming from different regions of Japan to go there…”

Tobisaki regarded Sakuma for a moment. “It can pass as a recreational center.” Tobisaki hummed then gave Sakuma one of his rare smiles. “Very good, Sakuma-san.”

* * *

Apparently, it’s been a good year since Sakuma left Tokyo to join Odagiri in the Hokkaido. When they found out that Sakuma’s unit had come back, Lt. Col. Yuuki told them that the Lieutenant (then promoted Captain already) was alive and well, and decided that he’ll be taking a longer break from the dreaming business. Lt. Col. Yuuki didn’t tell them anything more. They found a video feed showing Sakuma stopping by the headquarters the day he came back. It was clear that he was hesitating from the way he was fidgeting on camera.

It wasn’t that they forgotten about their former comrades, quite the opposite. They still remember them and maybe a small part of them even hoped that they’ll, at some point, decide to come back to join them at D-Agency again. It was also hard to forget the pair when two of their members were more than just a little infatuated with them. One of which is the reason why they’re seeking the Lieutenant and Odagiri out.

It was supposed to be an easy job… or it was supposed to be an easy job but it seemed it had been able to put the best (not that they’ll admit this to Miyoshi, he didn’t need anyone else stroking his ego for him) of them out of commission. Kaminaga, Amari and Tazaki chose to remain behind while Lt. Col. Yuuki along with Fukumoto, Jitsui, and Hatano headed to wherever Sakuma and Odagiri were.

From the airport, they hurried to Kushiro. They were sure Jitsui broke a few driving laws since they arrived there in less than half the estimated time of travel. Lt. Col. Yuuki directed Jitsui to drive them to the hospital near the mountains. They arrived there and just in time to see Odagiri leave the facility and head to his car. “Should we make contact?” Fukumoto asked Yuuki. Jitsui and Hatano shared a look, smirking. Fukumoto ignored them.

Yuuki watched Odagiri for a moment before nodding. “Find out where Sakuma is quickly.” Yuuki told him, sparing Fukumoto a glance. “Save your reunions for later.”

They looked out at the parking lot again, and found that Odagiri disappeared, his car was still there. Before Fukumoto could leave the car though, Odagiri was already peering inside the car. If they didn’t have any intention of being subtle, they weren’t on a job. “What are you doing in this side of Japan?” Odagiri asked, his eyebrow arching.

“Odagiri.” Lt. Col. Yuuki motioned for him to get inside the car. “We have matters to discuss.”

“Does Sakuma-san need to be here?” Odagiri asked. “He’s at the Onsen.”

“Onsen?” Hatano’s eyebrow quirked up, “Why is he at an Onsen?”

“He somehow managed to get us to be the caretakers of it for one of the patients at the hospital.” Odagiri told him. “It’s just a 30 minute drive from here.”

“Jitsui.” Lt. Col. Yuuki nodded at Jitsui who put the car in drive and began driving. Jitsui had always been a fast driver, and Odagiri didn’t like riding him all that much. Odagiri certainly didn’t miss it. “How is the Captain these days?” Lt. Col. Yuuki asked.

_Where were the others? Did Lt. Col. Yuuki just ask how Sakuma was?_ “He’s fine…” Odagiri answered, a little unsure. Hatano and Jitsui weren’t being their playful selves, Fukumoto’s silence was uncomfortable. Lt. Col. Yuuki doesn’t make small talk… something was up. Their former handler was being obvious and that didn’t bode well. “What’s happened?”

* * *

Sakuma woke up with a start, clutching his stomach as he sat up. One of the subject’s shades stabbed him to death after the subject committed suicide. He felt like his stomach was being carved out. He gathered his wits and looked at their client to tell them that they should try again but found the bunk next to him empty.

But he wasn’t alone in the room.

He slipped his hand under the cushion to get his gun. He frowned when he felt nothing there. “Are you looking for this?” A eerily familiar voice asked. He looked over his shoulder and found Lt. Col. Yuuki sitting on one of the chairs. “Hello Lieutenant.” He said, still holding on the gun. “I hope you don’t mind being awoken ahead of schedule.”

“That was you?” Sakuma asked, “What… why… how…” Sakuma began to ask but stopped himself. He didn’t even know if he was going to get an answer. He looked at Lt. Col. Yuuki. He wouldn’t just come to Kushiro without a good reason… “What are you doing here?”

Lt. Col. Yuuki regarded him for a moment. “Would you consider returning?” He asked.

Sakuma paused for a moment, looking at him. His eyebrows furrowing. “Excuse me… what?”

“I don’t see the point of me repeating myself when you’ve clearly heard me.” Their former handler frowned.

Sakuma didn’t know if he was being serious or not. Why would Yuuki want him back? Did he ask Tobisaki the same thing? “I… Why would you need me back?” Sakuma asked. “What use would you have of me? I know the extent of my abilities, I’m no fool to think that I can measure up to their skills.” Sakuma frowned. The remaining agents were more than capable of handling anything that comes to them. They didn’t need him.

“You’ll say no even if it’s for Miyoshi’s sake?” Lt. Col. Yuuki asked.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   * first things first, there will be characters here from the the maze runner (tmr) trilogy, these are Thomas, Newt, Minho, Alby, Ben and Gally. there are hints of minewt in this chapter. i'm not sure if they'll be a permanent fixture but right now, they're here to share their knowledge to D-Agency.
>   * additional information about WiCKED can be found in my tmr inception au fic under the title 'the true tragedy is losing ourselves in reality and forgetting how to dream' (long title, i know)
>   * there are also glader language in here: shuck means i always assumed it meant fuck but it says in the TMR wikia, its an expletive to draw attention to a person; shank means friend or fellow; klunk means shit; shuckface/slinthead are insults
>   * this hasn't been beta read so please forgive any mistakes
>   * a big thanks again to @sinningshipper, since she gave me the idea of locking Miyoshi inside a dream, thanks dearie!
>   * >a big thanks to @captaintightpants90, @toyetrash, @minholightning, @mintnewt for letting me whine about this chapter to them.
>   * also, check out this cool [ artwork ](http://nklmg.tumblr.com/post/146879473489/joker-game-inceptionau-damm-thats-sexy) made by nklmg (thank you again, love)
> 


“Even if it’s for Miyoshi's sake?” Lt. Col. Yuuki asked.

“Miyoshi’s sake?” Sakuma turned to look at Lt. Col. Yuuki. “What…”  Sakuma wasn’t sure if he was being played or not but he doubted Lt. Col. Yuuki would travel all the way from Tokyo to Kushiro to play some prank that wouldn’t be received well… then again… no. If they were playing him, Hatano and Kaminaga would be here instead of Lt. Col. Yuuki. “Is he…” _Well, if Miyoshi was okay, Lt. Col. Yuuki wouldn’t be here, now would he?_ “Something happened, didn’t it?”

“Up until a few hours ago, we were on an extraction mission.” Lt. Col. Yuuki informed him needlessly; that much he can discern. “It was an easy job, there were multiple subjects. Each of them had different targets.”

“Something went awry in the extraction?” Sakuma asked.

Lt. Col. Yuuki shook his head. “The execution of the plan… we were able to get out of there alive.”

_That answer is very vague, not to mention misleading. What’s going on?_ “What happened to Miyoshi?”

“He hasn't woken up.” Lt. Col. Yuuki told him.

Sakuma’s eyebrow quirked up. “Have you tried dunking him in a tub?” Sakuma asked.

“Jitsui and Hatano had the pleasure of pouring cold and hot water on him, he is still asleep in his cot,” Lt. Col. Yuuki’s face conveyed the unspoken words ‘ _Do you think us foolish to hurry to the other side of Japan without seeking alternatives first?’._

“You still haven't answered my question, what are you doing here?” Sakuma asked. _Why does it seem like you expect me to do something to save Miyoshi?_ Miyoshi didn’t need saving; Sakuma’s help wouldn’t have been welcomed nor appreciated. He was pretty capable of getting himself out of any trouble unscathed sometimes better than before.

“We suspect that an unseeable force pushed Miyoshi into this state, a force Miyoshi didn’t anticipate.” Yuuki told him. Sakuma managed to figure that out because Miyoshi didn’t have off days. The bastard was always on top of his game but even if he wasn't, he was still better than Sakuma by a hundred folds. “We are pressed for time as it is, we will discuss this as we travel back to Tokyo.”

* * *

Sakuma opened his eyes, his head felt like it had been split in two. Did he fall asleep on the drive back to their house? But he felt like he’s been asleep for a long time. It took him a moment to realise that he wasn’t in a car though. _Lt. Col. Yuuki._ The events that occurred earlier that day returned to him in an instant and made him shot up in a sitting position. He found himself in a lounge of a private jet, a coat draped over his body. “Finally, Sakuma-san, we thought you were never gonna wake up.”

His eyes scanned the room and it landed on Hatano who was playing poker with Jitsui, Fukumoto and Odagiri. He massaged the part that felt a little swollen, sighing heavily. “Was it really necessary to kidnap me?” Sakuma asked, getting to his feet.

“But Lieutenant, you can’t kidnap someone  who has already agreed to come.” Jitsui smiled up at him.

Sakuma’s eyebrow arched, “Remind me again when I agreed to come.” Sakuma told him. “I can’t seem to remember, did it happen between hitting me over the head and me waking up?”

Hatano snorted, shaking his head. “Of course you already agreed, it’s for Miyoshi.” Hatano folded and looked at him. “You already wanted to go the minute you heard Lt. Col. Yuuki mention Miyoshi’s name.”

“You have to admit that you saying yes was just a formality, Sakuma.” Odagiri said as he placed his cards down.

Sakuma noticed a glint in Jitsui’s eyes that reminded of a cat eyeing a canary. “Or were we wrong to assume that you still harbored love for our dear friend? Have you moved on?” Jitsui asked, eyeing Sakuma and Odagiri. “Hatano, this can’t be!”

Hatano looked scandalised at the suggestion, looking at Jitsui. “Are you implying that the Lieutenant and Odagiri are together?”

“Some of the hospital staff seem to think so.” Jitsui mock-whispered. “They do seem closer, don’t you think?”

Fukumoto looked stoic as ever; but that’s just because the group wasn’t able to catch the momentary look of amusement that graced his face before he schooled his features. Sakuma sighed, long-suffering before he shook his head and sat down on the seat next to Jitsui and Hatano. “You and your nonsense, I thought you lost it in this crisis.”

“Come now, Lieutenant, aren’t you gonna play along?” Hatano pouted.

Sakuma rolled his eyes. “We have more urgent things to discuss, don’t you think?” He looked at the folders next to Odagiri. “Are these the profiles of your targets?” Sakuma asked.

“Feel free to read them, Lieutenant, if you think that will help.” Fukumoto said, finally speaking up.

* * *

**_A few hours earlier..._ **

* * *

This is one of the situations that made Thomas grateful to Ben always insisting on having them create separate accounts on his laptop. It came handy when they had use it and they didn’t have to figure out how to hack into his account. But he still wasn’t as technologically savvy as Ben or Alby was. Minho had adequate skill in that regard but Thomas didn’t think Minho had enough patience to deal with this task at the moment. They woke up just a few minutes ago and Minho, as expected, went looking for Newt who was nowhere to be found. Hence, the current situation of Minho going ballistic in looking for his lover.

Minho has been hovering his shoulder for the past 10 minutes, barking at him to hurry up so they can find Newt and kill the bastards that decided to cross them. Thomas was trying his best not to yell at him to shut up and let him work. Normally, hacking wasn’t Thomas’ job but Ben was still a little disoriented while Alby and Gally were still in the process of waking up.

“Ben, you on your feet?” Minho asked impatiently. “Thomas is too shucking slow.”

“Dude, I'm the Architect, not an expert hacker like Ben is. So stop bitching.” Thomas said as calmly as possible. “I know you’re worried about Newt but snapping at me won’t change anything.”

Ben walked over to them, taking the seat next to Thomas and moving the laptop to face him. “What do you need?” Ben asked, cutting off whatever remark Minho was gonna throw at Thomas. Minho huffed before telling him to get the surveillance feeds of all establishments within a 300 metre radius. “Dude, that's a lot.”

“I don’t care. Focus on the feeds that detected movement in the middle of the night to the time we woke up.” Minho told him.

Thomas watched in amazement as he only had to press a few keys and the different feeds from the different surveillance cameras near them appeared on screen. “What else do you need?”

“Activate Newt’s tracker.” Minho told him as he cocked his gun. He watched each feed carefully. “Are these all of them?”

“Just what you asked, man.” Ben looked at him. “What are you looking for?”

Minho skimmed through the playing feeds and froze when he saw a familiar face on one of the tiny window screen. “Can you go back a bit on this video?” Minho instructed pointing at the specific video feed. Thomas frowned, wondering what his friend saw; because all he saw from that frame was a small group of young men passing by it, their faces were barely even seen.

Although that did look suspicious...

Ben did as instructed and Minho cursed under his breath when the video played again. He looked at the magazine of his gun before cocking it. “Fucking bastard.” He tucked his gun in his holster and grabbed his jacket from the back of Thomas’ chair. “Damn dreamers. I told Newt we should have killed them when I had the chance.” Minho snarled as he walked out of the room.

Ben and Thomas shared a look before running after him. Thomas managed to grab him, dragging him back a little and Ben blocked the doorway… not that they could stop him with that if Minho decided that he doesn’t have to listen to them. “Where are you going, man?” Thomas asked. “You’re gonna go after them by yourself?”

“No, I'm getting Newt back. I'll take down anyone who gets in my shucking way.” Minho struggled against his grip. “Thomas, let me go before you hurt yourself. Let go of me, shuckface!” Thomas tightened his grip and Minho felt justified in throwing him down on the floor. Thomas groaned on the floor, managing to shoot Minho a glare and flipped him off. “Serves you right.”

Ben swallowed involuntarily, crossing Minho would no doubt bring pain to his person (they were all aware of that), but he stood his ground (because them being safe is so worth pain if it came to that). “Dude, you know they’re a group, right?” Ben pushed him back. “I’m not doubting your skills or anything brother, but they’re professionals, man and they managed to get inside our heads, they managed to catch us off guard. Do you really think you can handle them on your own?”

Minho stared him down and noticed too late Thomas swinging his leg to knock him down to the floor by hitting the back of his legs. Thomas raised his hands in mock surrender when Minho grabbed him, ready to strangle him (maybe not to death but close to that, Thomas wasn’t really sure). “Just payback, you shank.” Thomas told him. Minho’s eyes narrowed, tightening his grip before he let him go.

Minho lied down, staring up the ceiling, taking deep breaths. Ben leaned over him, extending his hand. “I hate this, I fucking hate this.” Minho grumbled as he took Ben’s hand to help him stand up.

“It’s better to get the guys back on their feet first, man.” Thomas said as Minho pulled him up. “We don’t even know where he is.”

“Who did you even see?” Ben asked, walking back to the room. Minho followed with Thomas. They weren’t entirely surprised when Minho threw a chair against the wall. Gally lifted his head briefly, glaring at Minho. “Tracker’s been activated, we’ll know where he is in a minute.”

“Maki Katsuhiko, he’s a dreamer we met in Germany.” Minho answered. He looked at Gally who still had his head in his hand. “Oi, shuckface, you have a minute to get your klunk together, we’re moving out as soon as Ben gets Newt’s location.”

Alby was looking for his guns and found them inside the closet. “Wait, Germany is one of the jobs you and Newt took when you disappeared, right?” Alby asked, throwing Ben an empty gun. Minho nodded. “What did you do to them?” Alby asked.

“We didn’t do anything.” Minho answered. Minho wanted to kill them or at least kill Seishiro to send a message to Maki and to his co conspirators. He knew that letting them go would come back to bite them in the ass.

Alby snapped his fingers at Minho, frowning. “Hey brother, if this is a personal vendetta against you and Newt, I wanna know how far he’s gonna go to get a bullet through your shucking heads.”

“I don’t think it’s a personal vendetta; but he and his friends might be looking to extract more information from Newt, and maybe all of us too.” Minho frowned. “Maybe they realised that Newt did something to them and their memories.” Minho shrugged, shaking his head. “I don’t know, man. Newt said that they wouldn’t remember anything we did to or with them.”

“How likely is it for them to realise that you messed with them and their heads??”

Minho shrugged. “I would say it won’t be happening; Newt wouldn’t have let them go if he had any doubt but now, I'm not so sure. You know whatever he may have done might have worn off, we were always told that the brain is unpredictable,” Minho ran a hand through his hair. “He said they would only recall the information we let them extract from us and how they extracted it but they wouldn’t remember anything other than that.”

“But they knew who you were?”

“Yes. I couldn’t kill them, Newt didn’t want me to, he told me that we shouldn’t since we were lying low,” Minho cleared his throat.  “‘ _In case you’ve forgotten, Min, we just escaped WiCKED. We can’t draw unnecessary attention to us._ ” Minho said in a poor imitation of Newt. “Newt told me that Maki was a skilled dreamer, someone Janson would have enjoyed working with, he said he took care of it. From what I could tell from the group I saw in the videos, Seishiro, his accomplice, wasn’t there.” Thomas could tell that Minho was trying his best from keeping his temper in check. “Or there’s a possibility that I might have missed him but I’m sure Maki was there.”

“Oi, shanks!” Ben clapped his hands, drawing their attention to him. “I hate to interrupt, but I got him.”

* * *

“Are you sure he’s here?” Minho asked.

Ben bristled. “Does the sun rise from the east?” Ben asked. “The signal’s strong there.”

“Touchy, touchy.” Minho leaned against a wall, a couple of buildings from where Maki Katsuhiko’s hideout was. Alby was acting like a tourist, checking out the convenience store near it, with a camera around his neck. Gally and Ben were in the coffee shop next to the coffee building while Thomas was nowhere to be found. “Ben, where’s Thomas?” Minho asked, adjusting his hat. “Did that shank manage to get lost?” Minho wouldn’t be surprised if that were the case.

“Fuck you, man.” Thomas bit out. “I’m here.” Minho scanned the area and spotted Thomas stepping out of a truck that had plants at the back. Was that a gardening truck?

“What the fuck is up with your disguise? Did you highjack the first truck you saw?” Minho would have groaned and sent a little more profanities his way if he didn’t spot someone leave the building and heading Thomas’ way. “Someone’s heading your way.”

“You do know that this is an open line, right?” Thomas asked, grunting as he placed one plant pot on the ground. Ben and Gally also got to their feet when that someone was approaching Thomas, he was already too close for comfort. “Who are you talking to?”

“I really do wonder how you manage to stay alive after we escaped.” Minho said hastily as he made his way over to Thomas. Ben and Gally were moving as well. Alby was watching building, making sure that the man was alone. “And then I remember Newt and I are always there for you. Now, move!” Minho said, hitting the man who was about to grab Thomas’ shoulder and shoving them into the alley.

“How hard is it to say ‘someone’s heading your way, Thomas’?” Thomas hissed at him.

“How hard is it to stay alert?” Minho bit back. He turned towards the man, who had an amused smirk on his face. “You’re a friend of Maki?” Minho asked, grabbing the collar of his shirt. “Where’s our friend? What did you do to him? I swear to God, if you hurt him...”

“I come here in peace.” The man told him. “He’s safe, he’s inside. We mean no harm.”

“Like hell I’ll believe that!” Minho spat. “Why did you take him?”

“You know that it’s dangerous to fiddle with the PASIV when someone is still connected with it, especially when the dreamers are still asleep.” The man said. His calmness was unnerving and irritating, it was getting on Minho’s nerves. He tightened his grip on his collar. “If you all can calm down, I’ll take you inside and we’ll let you see him.”

“This is a trap.” Gally said from where he was leaning against the wall. His eyes were narrowed at the man.

“It might be but your friend seems to be important enough for you to risk heading into enemy lines,” The man shrugged. “It’s your choice.”

* * *

_“You shouldn’t smoke so much, Seishiro. I’ve seen you and Maki go through a pack in less than an hour.” Sakuma looked up and found Newt smiling at him. The party was still in full swing inside and he was sure Miyoshi was with Minho there. “You’ll destroy your lungs.”_

_“It’s my first tonight.” Sakuma informed him. “You or Minho don’t smoke?”_

_“Believe it or not, Minho’s very health conscious.” Newt told him. “He’d probably throw a fit if he sees me anywhere near that stuff. “_

_“Are you two…” Sakuma began but trailed off. Newt smiled, getting his meaning and shook his head. “Really?”_

_“What we have… you can call it a special friendship, I suppose.” Newt told him._

_“Just a friendship then?” Sakuma asked, tilting his head._

_Newt’s eyes narrowed, his lips smirking. “Are you interested in Minho, Seishiro?” Newt frowned. “I was sure you and Maki were together.”_

_Sakuma blushed, shaking his head. “We… I… what gave you that idea?” Sakuma stammered. He rubbed the back of his neck, opening his mouth before closing it again. He hoped that he looked earnest and shy. “We thought we were being discreet.”_

_“There’s nothing subtle about the looks I saw you guys throwing at each other.” Newt told him. “I should know, after all.”_

* * *

**W.i.C.K.E.D.** or **World in Cooperation to Kick-start the Experimentations on Dreams** _is a secret organization that was established by the C.I.A. in the late 1980s. It was founded by John Michael, a renowned neuroscientist during that era. The main objective of the organization was to help the agency train their operatives and the military’s special forces soldiers in combat training. They have developed a method that allowed the participants to move in a realistic training ground. It allowed them kill, shoot, and maim each other without causing any permanent or lasting physical harm or injury on their fellow trainees. The method also prevents the inevitable and unavoidable result of their training which are casualties._

Sakuma had been reading the same paragraph for the past 5 minutes or so. His head is buzzing after reading case file after case files on the WiCKED escapees. He eyed the remaining folders on the table warily. He didn't know why he wasn’t as surprised as he was supposed to be when he learned that there were more kids out there being experimented on. WiCKED really does live up to its name. Maybe they should include Ruthless Bastards in their byline as well.

Sakuma was aware that Newt and Minho were young when they were first exposed to the dreaming world. He didn’t think that WiCKED would be so cruel that they would have subjects younger than them participate in the program. Based on the case files, the members of Newt and Minho’s dream team were escapees of WiCKED. Some of these kids were 2 years younger than Newt. The thought of them having someone younger than that made his stomach churn uncomfortably. The fact that he learned that the names these kids used even up to now weren’t their originals names but was given by WiCKED for the experiment made him even more sick.

Unlike the members of D-Agency, who willingly signed up for this life, these children were forced into it. It wasn’t the first time he felt the need to take them from this world and hide them away, somewhere WiCKED or dreams’ influence won’t be able to reach them. But he knew that if he was having a hard time comprehending the idea of living in reality the without dreaming, what more for them? Their lives were practically dedicated to and revolved around dreaming.

“You look troubled, Lieutenant.” Sakuma looked up and found Jitsui and Hatano looking at him.

“It’s just… they’re kids.” Sakuma frowned.

“They’re already adults, Lieutenant. They’ve grown up a bit since you last saw them.” Jitsui told him. “They chose to continue this life.”

“Because it's the only life they know!” Sakuma snapped. His eyes widened, shaking his head. “I’m sorry, I… I didn’t mean to raise my voice.”

“It's understandable, what they’ve been through… it is despicable to perform experiments on children.” Hatano folded another round and looked at Sakuma. “But these children are strong enough to withstand it, I don't think they would need or appreciate your pity.”

He could remember having the same conversation with Miyoshi a few years ago during their extraction job. It sort of surprised him how impressed Miyoshi was with them, particularly with Newt. Sakuma finished the folder and placed it on the bottom of the stack. Jitsui, Hatano and Fukumoto didn’t seem like they had a problem with the involvement of the other group… not that they’d be so unprofessional to show their disdain… but Sakuma was sure he’d notice if that were the case. “Have they managed to Impress you?” Sakuma asked

Jitsui nodded. “Only a stubborn old fool would say otherwise. They have shown exceptional skill and understanding in our profession.”

“You already had a taste of Newt’s and Minho’s dreams, haven’t you Lieutenant?” Hatano asked.

* * *

Sakuma entered the Headquarters, feelings of nostalgia and longing soon blossomed in his chest. He didn’t really expect to miss this so much. There was a moment where he doubted his decision in walking away. He knew why he did it, he always thought his reasons were sound and sensible, but being there at the D-Agency, made his reasons seem ridiculous, it wasn’t enough to walk away. He looked at Tobisaki, no, Odagiri and he knew that the former dreamer felt it too. It’s been years since they both had been here last.

He half expected Miyoshi and the rest of the group to be in the study room, smoking and playing a round of poker to pass the time. “Where are the others?” Sakuma asked, looking back at Jitsui and Hatano. Normally, he would have headed straight inside but he was an outsider now, wasn’t he?

“They’re in the Conference Room on the second floor.” Hatano answered, folding his arms behind his head. “Amari said Minho managed to wake Newt up.”

“What about Miyoshi?” Sakuma frowned. “Have they managed to wake him up as well?”

Hatano shook his head. “If he was already awake, then bringing you here would be pointless, wouldn’t it?” He walked past them and headed to the kitchen. Fukumoto and Jitsui followed suit, Lt. Col. Yuuki headed to his office without another word. He was leaving the mission up to them. He appreciated the confidence but wasn’t that a little foolish? He wasn’t even sure what he could do to help Miyoshi.

Kaminaga was leaning against the wall next to the door when they arrived on the second floor. He was speaking to someone Sakuma hasn’t personally met but had read a file on. Thomas Edison who goes by Thomas was one of Minho and Newt’s comrades from WiCKED. He started as one of the architects working on the dreaming experiments, but after a few years, he became part of the experiment as one of the subjects. From what Sakuma could deduce from the file, Thomas was an excellent architect and an above average dreamer.

Kaminaga turned to them, a smile forming on his face. “The man of the hour has arrived.” Kaminaga walked over to them. He clapped a hand on Sakuma and Odagiri’s shoulders. “Just in time too, Newt is about to explain what happened while he and Maki were under.”

Kaminaga ushered them inside and almost immediately, he could feel the glare Minho was throwing him drilling holes in him. He sat next to Amari who squeezed his shoulder, and Tazaki who flashed him a grin before facing their other guests. Sakuma looked around the room and found Benjamin Franklin also known as “Ben” sitting next to Newt, quietly talking to the lad while Galileo Galilee a.k.a. “Gally” and Albert “Alby” Einstein stood in front of them, practically shielding them from members of the D-Agency. Minho and Thomas were leaning against the wall opposite them with Minho staring them down and Thomas studying Sakuma carefully. Sakuma averted his eyes and finally noticed Miyoshi sleeping on the cot next to Newt’s.

“Is everybody here?” Newt asked, standing from the cot he was occupying. He looked at Sakuma, a calculating look on his face. There was a coldness in his expression that wasn’t there a few years ago. “Seishiro, what do you remember from our encounter a few years ago?”

Sakuma stared at him blankly for a moment, trying to draw the memory to the front of his mind. After writing that report with MIyoshi, he wasn’t really able to recall a lot of details from that job except the information they got. Neither of them felt inclined in digging more into it though. He looked at Newt, a frown on his lips. “We were able to extract the information needed from you and Minho.” Sakuma answered.

Minho snorted. Newt shot him a look. “You have to admit that for a beginner, he was good, Minho.” Newt chided. Minho rolled his eyes. Sakuma knew that his skills back then, compared to the other members of the D-Agency, were abysmal but he’s gotten better in time. Admittedly, it wasn’t in the same level as his comrades but it was at least good enough to keep up with them. “Moving on, anything else?”

Sakuma tried again to recall more but nothing that really involved Newt, Minho or their mission came to mind except... “Just that you disapprove of our smoking habits.” Sakuma answered. “How is this related to the current situation?”

“I’m sure you were told that Minho instructed them to get someone he has a strong connection with here.” Newt said instead of answering, he placed his hands on the table and stared in Sakuma’s eyes. “Maki is stuck inside a Memory Paradox.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“A Memory Paradox is a technique that my former… handler and I were working on before we escaped the WiCKED Facility.” Newt told him. “It’s a part of a strategy that can be used to protect a subject’s mind from extractors or any type of unwanted dreamer from getting or planting information in their mind.” Newt looked uncomfortable now, he looked at his companions before turning back to them. “A dreamer, it can be the subject or anyone really, as long as they have capability in doing this, will influence the subconscious of the other to create a space where he or she will fill with anything that he can think of.

“They will use bits of their memories to create a universe or world of their own. History, events of this universe, it will be from their own memories.” Newt told them.

“If it’s that simple… then you wouldn’t look so worried.” Sakuma was surprised to hear himself speak.

Newt looked at him, a little wide-eyed. “Yes, well, for the Memory Paradox to be complete, and to make sure that the trespasser will be trapped, the creator of the Memory Paradox must make sure that there is a question planted in his mind.”

“So all he has to do is figure out the answer, right?”

“If it was that easy, you wouldn’t be here.” Minho stood next to Newt. “As Newt mentioned, the Memory Paradox is basically a new universe. It might be made from his memories but it is still a new universe. The reason why”

“Maki must search for the answer in this Universe.” Newt told him. “It’s not forever, but the longer he takes in answering, the more difficult it is to answer the question… and as time passes by in that Universe, they will forget that there is question he must answer.”

“What’s the question you planted?” Kaminaga asked.

“I only had to make sure that there is question there.” Newt told him. Sakuma frowned, his eyebrow quirking up. “The questions he’s supposed to answer are ‘Who is Miyoshi?’ and ‘What happened in Germany?’”

“Those are two questions.” Sakuma pointed out.

“From what I could see, your friend goes the extra mile.” Minho said sarcastically. “Now, do you know why you’re here?”

“I’m still trying to figure that out.” Sakuma said honestly.

“I don’t have the time to wait for you to figure it out, so I’m gonna give you a free pass and give you the answer.” Minho said, ignoring Newt’s narrowing eyes at him. “I told them to get the person he has the strongest connection with because they’re the only one who can bring them back. _You’re_ the only who can bring him back.” Minho told him. “Do you understand? The Memory Paradox traps the person in a dream with a question but the difficult part of that is getting past the belief that that universe is reality and not a dream. He can find the answer to his questions a million ways to sunday but if he doesn’t realise that he’s dreaming, he won’t be able to wake up.”

**Author's Note:**

> **notes** :
> 
>   1. the information in this fic might be inaccurate ( i tried to make it as accurate as possible though!)   
> 
>   2. the japan self defense forces was established in 1954 after WWII. they lend a hand to the UN for peacekeeping purposes. mostly they try to minimize the threat to Japan.  
> 
>   3. from what i read about JSDF, they are not required to serve, it’s voluntary and they can resign at any time
>   4. Japan sent members of the JSDF to Iraq to help the US rehabilitate in 2004, they were pulled out by 2006
>   5. I assumed that a totem doesn't necessarily have to be like Arthur's or Ariadne which involve the weight of their totems to be modified, it can be a puzzle that only the owner knows, Fukumoto's totem would be a coin (Harvey Dent The Dark Knight). Both sides will have heads and in a dream, it'll be a regular coin  
> 
>   6. As for Sakuma’s travel itinerary, he got on a flight from Tokyo to New Chitose Airport at  7:30 am and arrives at 9:00 am, he’ll take a train from Sapporo to Kushiro at 9:26 and arrive at Kushiro station at 1:20 pm. Let’s assume that this is the first train from Sapporo
>   7. About Jitsui’s driving, I have no idea if that’s possible in Japan. Humour me.
>   8. The shift from Tobisaki and Odagiri is because in front of the other agents, Tobisaki Hiroyuki is still Odagiri.
>   9. Special thanks to [@sinningshipper](https://tmblr.co/mdfn1R73svav-iHXP2gF3JA) for helping me with some details when I was telling her about my idea, the last line was hers, btw, thank you so much dearie!
>   10. also a big thanks to  [@toyetrash](https://tmblr.co/mPsLERQAlC83jEIRlgv1kdA), [@minholightning](https://tmblr.co/mEGekMyvJh7hE7xALWSgA2Q), [@corporalshort](https://tmblr.co/mzWUnMl3f62zlWt0yTYxi0Q), and [@captaintightpants90](https://tmblr.co/m9zfhA0iFPCxhMeFCQ1lxYQ) for listening to me whine about this and read through it even though they haven’t watched the anime 
>   11. thank you for reading!
> 



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